Lorain County labor unions group sponsors candidates night

Jim Bobel/JBobel@morningjournal.com
Nina Turner addresses the crowd at the First Annual AFL-CIO and UAW CAP Council Meet the Candidates Night. Turner is running for Secretary of State.

ELYRIA — Fourteen Lorain County candidates congregated at Lorain County Community College April 30 for the Lorain County Organized Labor Union’s first annual Meet the Candidates event.
Sponsored by the Lorain UAW and AFL-CIO, the event is union-sponsored, not tied to a particular political party, said Jim Sloan, co-president of the Lorain County Organized Labor Union.
Harry Williamson, also president of the Lorain County Organized Labor Union, said candidates were invited to represent their own goals and views rather than right or left wing affiliations.
“We wanted them to speak on behalf of themselves, not political parties,” Williamson said.
Representatives for gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald and Rep. Marcy Kaptur spoke, and Rep. Dan Ramos spoke on behalf of himself as well as state auditor candidate John Patrick Carney and treasurer candidate Connie Pillich.
Ramos, who is seeking a third term as representative for the 56th District, received a standing ovation after he spoke on the importance of unions, which he said he was raised to support.
“Unions have always and will always be the defender of the middle class in Lorain County,” Ramos said.
Brendan Mackin, who is seeking the 55th District seat, echoed Ramos’ sentiments.
“Labor needs to be able to organize and protect itself,” Mackin said. “Workers need the right to organize and collectively bargain for their wages.”
Sen. Nina Turner, Secretary of State hopeful, mentioned the block on the minimum wage increase bill placed by Senate Republicans in Washington April 30.
Raising the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 is a sensible economic choice, she said. “$10.10 is not a lot to ask,” she said. “People get up everyday to live great, not decent.”
Turner also said she plans to take action, if elected. She said she hopes to lift the people she represents to propel them to a better life.
“I don’t feel like I’m running for office, I feel like I’m running for a cause,” Turner said.
Oberlin’s Janet Garrett, a kindergarten teacher at Eastwood Elementary, is seeking the 4th congressional District seat as a write-in candidate opposite Jim Jordan.
Garrett stressed the state of education, which she believes is at stake.
“What I see is a looming crisis in a move toward educational profiteering,” she said.
Garrett said she believes the classroom is no place to generate profit. She also said the current common core curriculum jeopardizes the minds of the future.
“Our children’s and grandchildren’s future depends on what we do today,” she said.
Lorain County Commissioner Tom Williams and State Rep. Matt Lundy, who is seeking Williams’ seat as County Commissioner in November, also discussed education during a debate after other candidates spoke.
Williams said encouraging those who attend vocational schools will be beneficial toward the future of private jobs.
“We need to change the stigma of those who go through vocational schools,” Williams explained.
Williams also noted the need for more private jobs in the county, which begins with the expansion of current companies while convincing outside companies to move to the area, which Williams said he’s worked hard for.
“If we can get companies to expand and if we can get companies to move here because of what we have to offer, then we’re doing a better job,” he said.
Lundy noted the resources offered locally at Lorain County Community College, where he said students can earn a two-year degree that can provide a platform for further education and careers.
In a closing statement, Williams, who was elected as County Commissioner in 2010, noted he seeks to represent the community as a whole, regardless of political affiliations. He said he has worked closely with union representatives and plans to continue to bring balance to county government.
Lundy emphasized his priority to stand for labor while retaining relationships among community officials.
“We are all in this together, we are all in local government,” he said. “It can’t be one city versus another, one township versus another. We are all in local government.”